Earthmaid
by noble silver dagger
Summary: Bie Glenstone aka the authoress quite literally falls into the world of VHD. can she survive in the desolate frontier? or will she just become another one left behind by the vampire hunter d?
1. Chapter 1

**Earthmaid**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Vampire Hunter D, Dracula (Who _does_ have his rights?),or anything else from the Vampire Hunter D movies or novels. So don't sue me. Please. (Do it! Do it!) Now, enjoy reading my new work while I go and kill my childish dhampir friend.

Bie ran. She didn't have destination in mind, but she ran as fast as she could. She tried to outrun all the guilt, and the loneliness, and the fear. 'Maybe if I run fast enough, I can outrun my own lies." She thought. Gradually she had to stop. Bie found she was on a trail through mountains she knew well. Not mountains, actually, but the foothills of some. She kept walking to a spot where an old, dead tree leaned over a mossy cliff, the kudzu growing over it making a perfect shelter for a scared, tired runaway. Bie pulled a backpack out from under a rocky overhang and checked it for spiders. The waterproof bag was also arachnid-proof, apparently. Bie crawled into the kudzu cave and tried to think. She couldn't go home, at least not right now. Her parents would probably go looking for her at dusk, but Bie wasn't worried. She had always thought she was born in the wrong era, and was not especially dependant on electricity, so she had stored only a flashlight for reading in her backpack instead of the camp lantern she had considered. "What to do, what to do." She murmured as she pulled a Vampire Hunter D book out ofa compartment. . There was still plenty of light to read by; she had read in the car with less. Bie lay inside for a while reading. When she had read several chapters, she crawled outside to watch the sun set. Bie had a perfect view from the edge of the cliff. A moment passed, then another, before Bie felt a tickly, prickly sensation on her leg. She looked down and froze. A big, hairy, eight-legged, venom-fanged, fat wolf spider was starting to crawl across her leg!

"Augh! Ew,ew,ew get off, get off, GET OFF!" She screamed as she tried to swipe it off her now thrashing legs. Just as the hideous atrocity came dislodged, so did Bie. With a final shout, Bie went tumbling off her cliff and onto the distant mossy ground.

* * *

The daylight was beginning to seep from the earth, and still D had not found his prey. The Hunter wasn't worried, merely beginning to be irritated at the time it was taking to locate the young bloodsucker. Rarely did he lose a whole day in fruitless searching, but to find a vampire holed up in a flying castle was proving a daunting task. D turned towards the mountains a short distance away. Most of the mountains in this region had been flattened long ago by the nuclear war that had nearly destroyed humanity and given vampires an opportunity to reign. The remaining hills were bare rock, bereft of lush greenery and still scarred. Many monstrosities dwelt in the caves there, and a constant stream of hiding Nobility plagued the area. Whether they were drawn by the deep caves or by the beautiful but surreal landscape D could not say, nor did the scenery appear to affect him in the least. With hardly a glance at the ridges of dark rock, D rode right into the thin forest surrounding them. The trees were enormous, draped with heavy vines and surrounded by pools of water belying the springs beneath the ground. The ground was churned in places as though a cavalcade of horses had stampeded through the wood. Presently D arrived at a place where some smaller trees had been snapped, and a large gouge in the earth made it seem as though something enormous had crashed in the forest. A few scorched stones were all that remained of the flying fortress.Carriage tracks led away from the disturbed area, deeper into the woods toward the bare hills. If this was D's prey, the vampire was running scared. D found the remains of the carriage outside a cave. It appeared as though the fleeing Noble had leapt from his carriage and allowed it and the frenzied horses plough into the hillside. There was no trace of the horses anywhere; not surprising since nothing edible escaped the scavengers long on the Frontier. The vines covering the cave had been sliced partially away, but what caught and held the Hunter's attention was the pool of water just to the side of the cave. A pile of boulders lay between the mouth of the cave and the pool proper, and lying among the rocks as though she had been thrown there was a girl. Her legs trailed in the water, but the rest of her body was on the dry rocks. The water plants had twined about her legs as high as they could reach. The rocks she lay on and everywhere she touched were carpeted in thick, vibrant mosses. Vines had begun to cocoon her upper body as well, creating a sort of living coffin strong enough to protect the body from scavengers. D dismounted and moved to inspect the oddity.

"Well? What do you make of it?" D said after a moment's inspection.A harsh voice emanated from his left hand.

"She's just a normal girl, and what's more, she isn't dead. She's still breathing and she has a pulse, so she isn't _un_dead either." D turned to check out the cave. The sky was only lit now by the sun's afterglow of twilight. Day was over, and soon it would be the time of the Lords of Darkness and all their foul creations. D left his horse by the plant-entombed girl and waited.

* * *

Just as the moon rose in the sky, D's keen ears heard noises in the pitch-blackness of the cave. The foolish vampire underestimated D rushed out of the cave, apparently trying to startle the Hunter into a bad position. It was the final foolish mistake the young noble would make. D drew his blade with a flash of silver. A split-second later the vampire's head was continuing on it's forwards path as his body thumped onto the grass, black fluids seeping from it's severed neck and pierced chest. D elegantly flicked the gore from his blade and collected the fallen head.

"So what are you going to do about the girl?" The tumor in his left hand asked. D stayed silent.

"You haven't decided yet, have you? Come on, D; like you're going to leave a girl out in the middle of the Frontier, an immobile snack for whichever fiend comes this way next." The hand snickered. D clenched his fist.

"I didn't ask for your opinion." He said. His voice was icy enough to freeze a salamander.

After a moment the hand turned out to be correct. The Hunter sighed- _sighed_– and started pulling the vines away. Almost instantly they moved back, and strong green tendrils wrapped themselves around his boots, holding him immobile. D's eyes flashed.

"Back, you. I won't hurt her." The vines slowly shrank away at the Hunter's words and let him continue his work. When he had moved all the vines he knelt to pull her free of the water and it's plants. D could hear the fem's heartbeat, faint but steady, as well as her shallow breaths now. He lifted her clear of the water and set her on some non-mossy rocks. Her clothes were torn as though she had fallen over sharp rocks, yet D could see no wounds or marks on her pale skin. And she was indeed pale for a human, a smooth, creamy color that seemed even paler in contrast to her dark hair, which would seem to be almost black in the lmoolight. She wasn't drop-dead gorgeous, but had a sort of refined, quiet elegance. She had a rounded, but not bulbous, nose; and finely arched, slim eyebrows. Her eyes were adorned with long, thick lashes other girls dreamed about, and her lips were a pale rose just beginning to blossom. D's eyes were instinctively drawn to her long, equally pale neck, and he found himself touching the spot at the base of her throat, where her blood slowly pulsed against his fingertips. D barely noticed the imperceptible elongation of his canines, nor could he see the reddish hue slowly tingeing his normally grey eyes. He didn't notice that he was slowly leaning closer to the helpless girl's exposed throat. The entire world was in that fragile thread of life, that heartbeat, the blood of the innocent, pure girl below him, hypnotizing him, teasing him. Suddenly her pulse grew stronger under his fingers, and her breathing deeper. D jumped up with a growl and shook his head. The normally stolid Hunter was trembling from the effort to control his much-hated vampiric urges. By the time the girl opened her eyes, he was fully in control of himself, so great was the willpower of the man that was Vampire Hunter D that the girl had no idea what he had almost done to her.

* * *

The girl's eyes flicked open. D absently noted they were a golden-brown, flecked with green. She looked at him for a moment, frowned, and warily sat up.

"Where am I? And who are you?" she asked. "You're not some psychotic murderer or rapist or somewhat, are you?" The man didn't answer. She couldn't really get a good look at him, since the moon was covered with clouds now. He seemed…eerie, unnatural, and sad. He also seemed to be deaf.

"Hey, say something, will you? Who are you?" She demanded, using bravado to ward off panic.

" My name is D. I am not a rapist. And you are?" The man-D- said in a low voice that sent inexplicable shivers running up and down the girl's spine.

"I'm Bie, Bie Glenstone. My apologies, I must have heard you wrong: did you say your name was D? As in the famous Grade-A half-blooded Vampire Hunter D?" Bie asked incredulously. D blinked in reply, which seemed to be all the affirmative the girl needed.

* * *

A/ns: Well, there's the beginning of Earthmaid. if it sounds like it's going to turn out to be a typical mary sue or whatever those annoying self-insertion-oh-arent-i-amazing fics, hang on for a bit because it is definatly not. (...) well, maybe a little. (that's what i thought.)But i promise you it will beskillfully and tastefully done! okay, read, reveiw, and C-ya! 


	2. Chapter 2

ha hah, thought i lost this chappie...enjoy!

**Earthmaid**

Bie started to relax a bit; she knew D's character well enough to trust he was no danger to any but vampires and other evil creatures, not defenseless fifteen-year-old girls. She refused to worry about what this meant. 'Leave the past in the past, and let tomorrow take care of itself.' She thought to clear her head. Running her eyes quickly down her own body, Bie did a quick damage assessment, then squealed when she realized she might as well be naked. Her clothes were torn and ragged enough to show more then she thought decent. Bie felt her ears turn red when she realized that the gorgeous hunter probly thought she looked like an overlarge grub, as pale as she was and with those darn belly rolls she couldn't seem to lose.

"You…wouldn't happen to have something a bit more decent I could wear, would you?" she mumbled, trying to keep the shame out of her voice. The silent Hunter turned to his horse and pulled another coat from the saddlebags. Bie blinked. She hadn't thought the hunter would have a spare coat, since he always wore the same one in books and movies. She looked at her sneakers and then glanced around her for her backpack. Which she realized she was sort-of lying on. After a moment of tugging, Bie managed to dislodge it from between the two boulders holding the pack tight. She accepted the coat with a murmur of thanks and continued to pull a pair of smart black boots from the backpack. D watched her put them on in silence. Nonetheless, a raspy voice commented.

"Well, at least she has the legs to go with those lips." The voice said lewdly. Bie spun towards the Hunter.

"Did you say something?" she said and cocked her head. The hunter didn't do anything. Bie frowned and bit her lip. "Okay, then, did that thing in your hand say something?" she asked, pointing to D's left hand. The Hunter still stood there, and Bie couldn't see his eyebrows race for his hairline between the night and his hat. But something about D must have shown his surprise, because Bie smiled. "Hey, don't look so surprised. Where I come from, everyone who knows about you knows about it-or is 'it' a 'him'?"

D stood silent for two heartbeats, trying to make some sense of Bie's strange statement. He had dealt with enough strange things to not take everything odd at face value. With a mental shrug, D turned towards his mount.

"Are you coming?" he asked the girl. Bie blinked and mounted behind him with a devilish grin.

"You aren't going to be cooperative in the least, are you?" She teased and laughed when the Hunter's pointy ear twitched. " You're the best person I've ever met, though, D. You don't judge people on dumb things."

D had more thinking to do then he usually had cause for. He was riding back to the town that had hired him with a strange girl sleeping behind him, her head resting on his shoulder and her arms about his waist. He didn't know where she had come from, why she was here, or how she knew about the parasite. Worse, he had almost lost control and sucked her dry, yet the girl had shown nothing short of complete trust in him.

" Makes you kind of uneasy, doesn't it, not knowing how much she knows about you? I wonder if the trusting little treat knows what you really are?" The countenanced carbuncle said. "So, did you decide what to do about her yet, D? You know, since she seems normal enough, why don't we just ditch her in the next town? We'll leave her asleep in a back alley, and no one will think she's anything but a drunk. Well, D?" The Hunter frowned; for some reason he didn't want to abandon Bie in some close-minded Frontier town. He felt responsible for her somehow. D tightened his grip on the reins.

" If she wants to go, that's her own prerogative. I'm not going to abandon her." The Hunter answered. The carbuncle snorted.

"I don't believe it. D's going soft, and over a kid, too. Come on, D, I'm telling you something doesn't taste right about that girl. It's like she's a fish flying in the air, like she doesn't belong here." Anything said after that was lost to the howling of the wind.

Bie yawned. She had had the most wonderful dream. She had fallen off a cliff and landed in the world inside the books and movies of Vampire Hunter D. She had dreamt she had awoke to find the elegant Hunter himself standing over her, and that he had actually talked to her and-.

Bie blinked.

"Omigosh!" She was sitting up, not lying under a tent of kudzu. And she wasn't resting her head on her bag, but the actual shoulder of D himself. That meant it wasn't a dream, and she really _did_ fall off a cliff and somehow end up in the world of Vampire Hunter D. She just didn't know, exactly, how.

"Enjoy your nap?" D said. Bie snapped back into what was apparently now reality.

"I thought I was dreaming for a moment." She answered. "What time is it? It looks like the sun should be up soon." Sure enough, the moon sat low in the sky, and the horizon was a pale dusty blue-gray.

"It's about six Morning. We'll be coming to a town soon."

Bie bit her lip. The town wouldn't be very welcoming to D, even if he had worked for them. If she stayed with him, she would just be a burden and she didn't want him to get hurt. But if she left him, she would be in a strange place alone and had read horrible enough things about what happened to unprotected girls in Frontier towns, never mind what a monster would do to her. Humans sometimes frightened her more then anything else she had faced, and she had never been taught how to fight. 'I'm a klutz, so if I stay with D I'll be a liability and if I leave I'll probly get ravished, maimed, killed or all three in alternating order.' Bie sighed. She hated making decisions. They were one of her top things to avoid, right between trying to figure out time travel consequences and sushi with ginger in it. If she hesitated long enough, they tended to decide themselves, anyway. Of course, she had forgotten to factor in how incredibly hot D was…

"Down, girl." Bie muttered under her breath. It wouldn't do to fall for D. It would probably be best for her to make the Hunter another big brother, or not get attached at all. Things would be easier that way if –_when- _she managed to find her way home. Bie sighed again. Where was home, anyway? Back where she came from? She had nothing to return to there. She might as well try to start a new life in this world.

"D? Can I ask you a favor?" she said. The Hunter didn't answer, which she expected. So she asked anyway. "Will you help me learn how to defend myself? You see, I- I would really like to stay with you, if I could, and I know that right now I'd just be a burden to you. But I'm really afraid of what might happen if you aren't around, and you're the only person I know here. But if you don't want me following you around, then I'll- I'll just figure something else out. Just say the word." Bie waited through what seemed an eternity of silence. Finally D answered after a fashion.

"How much experience with weapons have you had?"

Bie gulped. "Well, I, um, have used a bow and I can shoot pretty good but only at shorter distances if I want any accuracy. I've never used any bladed weapon, or any blunt weapons or whips either, but I played with them before and I think I could get good with a whip. So I guess I'm pretty well helpless next to the Frontier girls, I can't use a spear or a staff either, and don't they learn both?"

Bie stopped herself and took a deep breath. She didn't want to sound like an airhead, but she really didn't know anything. She didn't even know if the dark Hunter would teach her anything. After all, Hunters never did anything without hope of payment, right? But D had helped that Lang girl and her brother…Bie sighed. No matter what happened, she was determined to make the best of her time in this strange new place.

The town started out as a dusty smudge on the dull Frontier horizon. You had to ride almost to the town proper before you could see a fully green and working farm. Most of the outlying farms had fallen prey first to drought, then to the vampire d had slain hours earlier. The hunter went straight for the town center, to a small square. The mayor and sheriff were waiting for him there. Men, strong and wary of the dark youth before them, clutched weapons tight and close. Bie had dismounted earlier and was standing next to the mounted D's boot. She was right at eye level with the mayor. The tiny man was clearly upset by D's presence.

"Did you get the job done?" The sheriff called. In response, D threw the bag with the Vampire's severed head at their feet. The mayor looked as if he were going to vomit. Bie walked toward the officials and took the bag they handed to her. She weighed it for a moment and tossed it to D on her way back to his side. Only then did the mayor seem to find a trace of a coward's bravery. He snarled at the Hunter.

"You've got your stinking money, now get out of my town, you filthy trash!" He ordered. D looked him in the eye, and the diminutive man broke into a nervous sweat. Slowly, casually, the girl and the dark-clad hunter made their way out of the sad little village.

The odd pair had come to another stretch of untended fields when Bie saw a cloud of dust rise from the road behind them. Without a word, D helped her mount up behind him and they easily outdistanced their pursuers.

* * *

A/n: sorry it took me so long to get this finished, I was working on chappie three and I have an essay to finish, so chya…R&R, pple! 


	3. Chapter 3

[looks at cobwebs wow. havent been here for a while. so this is Earthmaid. Oh yeah, and i dont own D. i obsess, but i dont own. so sad...

but ON WITH THE FIC!!

* * *

**Earthmaid**

**Chapter Three**

The wind howled over the hills as a chilled moon watched from above. A delicate looking creature floated about, hovering just over the ground. The silvery miasma spooked a rabbit, which tried to jump over it. The mist monster rose and snatched it. The rabbit's death-cry was borne on the wind to the keen ears of a dark-clad youth seated at the base of a tree. Silently he rose and walked of into the darkness. The ignorant monster drew ever closer to where the youth had been moments ago. It veered when it sensed the youth's presence. The silver-coated man drew a long sword that shone like the very moon itself from the sheath on his back. With a swift movement he neatly bisected the ominous cloud as a wolf howled in the distance. The youth stood under the gleaming moon in silence, and listened.

Bie wasn't exactly sure what had woken her, but the first thing she noticed was that D wasn't on the other side of the tree they had rested under. It was a big tree, but not _that_ big. She scrambled to the top of one of the hills surrounding the tree and found D standing at the foot of it. Just standing there under the half moon, his dark garments looking like they had acquired a coating of ice. Bie's breath caught in her throat. He looked so beautiful, and yet… so sad and alone. "Down, girl." She murmured again. The bit of breeze must have been enough to carry her whisper to the Hunter, for he turned and looked up at her. They stood, locked in a moment, for an inestimable time. The spell was finally broken by the screech of some flying creature. Bie turned and hurried back to the tree while D came up the hill. She tripped over something long and wooden lying near where D had been and tried not to swear. Curious, she picked up the object and examined it. One end was rounded smooth and bulged a little, while the other end looked like a cross between a stake and a blade. In all, it would come up to Bie's shoulder upright. She ran her fingers down the length of the shaft and found no splinters or rough spots in the wood from being carved. The point of the bladed end was actually sharp; with enough pressure it could easily pierce flesh. There was something odd, though; wooden weapons, outside of stakes, didn't fit D's profile. Bie frowned and turned. D stood silently behind her, making her gasp in fright and fall over the glaive she had just set down. She could feel her face flush hot at her foolishness. Bie started to scramble up and hardly noticed the hand up D offered. For a moment they stood there silently. Bie realized that if she didn't say something, D wouldn't either. "Um, so… what's with the glaive? I mean it's not exactly you."

' I thought you wanted to learn a weapon." Bie blinked in surprise.

"Sooo, it's for me, then?" Apparently D's non-answer was an affirmative. The girl picked up the glaive again with more care. Silently, D drew his sword. Bie's eyes widened. She didn't think that he would actually _spar _with that blade! If she messed up and got cut, it would be a pretty serious thing. But then, who was the swordsmaster, she or the Hunter? She gulped and raised the glaive as though she were at 'port arms' in drill.

"I'm going to do a simple side swing, aiming at your midsection. Try to block it." D said. He swung his sword at a fraction of his usual supernatural speed. Even so, Bie barely had time to twist her glaive between her side and the blade. She wasn't quite sure what she would do after that, but felt proud she had at least managed a simple block, even if she bruised where the shaft struck her hip.

"Now do it again." The hunter said. Bie repeated the block several more times until she found a way to keep the glaive from injuring its owner. Finally D called a halt and Bie gingerly prodded her abused flesh. Oh yeah, she was definitely going to be sore the next day. Or night. Or whenever she woke again. D slung her glaive off the side of the saddle, within easy reach should she need it. Bie winced as the hunter helped pull her into the saddle. Her hands were sore, but she wasn't about to show weakness around the magnificent Dhampir.

"You sure manage to find the strange ones, D." A rusty voice floated through the still air. The lonely trio threaded their way through a narrow, dry mountain pass. They had traveled north for about a week, leaving the village far behind.

"I heard that!" Bie called to D's left hand, or more precisely, the parasite that inhabited it. Not that anyone expected it to _care…. _D guided the surefooted horse across a narrow ledge with hardly a thought. He was wary of this treacherous mountain pass. It was a chilly, desolate place. The climate was particularly nasty; you could go for weeks with no hint of a cloud and then suddenly find yourself blown off the trail by a freak storm. Even at their peak, the Nobility themselves couldn't tame these vicious heights. They rode along the only sure path to the other side of the range. Still, the weather could be a problem. Already D could imagine the effects the relentless sun would have on him if they were delayed. Luckily they wouldn't have to worry about food or water for the girl. She ate much less then most stressed humans, though never as little as D. The hunter looked over his shoulder for what was about the tenth time for that day, checking on his young charge. Bie was staring at the high mountain peaks, lost in the lonely world of her mind. With a sigh she noticed D had turned and smiled at him. She trusted him like a brother.

" There is a village up the path where we will be stopping tonight. The trail worsens from here on, so hold on tight. Okay?" Bie smiled bravely, or at least tried to. She wasn't the best rider under ideal conditions, let alone double-seated on a mountain pass. She could see it now: the graceful hunter racing from some unknown peril and herself falling to the ground like an uncoordinated oaf. Frankly, she was terrified, but while her first instinct was to chatter from nerves, she dared not offend D. So instead she wrapped her arms about his waist and held on for dear life.

* * *

a/n: so okay people, you know the drill. R&R! 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: i dont own D, yadda yadda yadda, etc etc.

Now On With The Fic!

**Earthmaid**

**Chapter four**

The first part of the mountain journey passed with near-dull tranquility. Nothing attacked, and Bie found herself frustrated that she had half-hoped something would happen. She was thinking about the oddness of her glaive-'really, it's more like a spear for the length'- when they rounded a tight corner and came suddenly upon a tiny village. Although calling this scattered collection of ramshackle homes a village was stretching even that word's definition. Bie wondered how such a tiny community survived out here. Surely there were creatures that did not fear the cliffs when a human meal was the reward. D halted outside a distinctly horsy-smelling cave. 

"Wait here." The Hunter said. You couldn't really call his words a command, yet Bie would not even entertain the thought of disobeying. D's horse turned its head and eyed the passenger still on it's back. Finally it turned away, snorting and shaking its head.

"Well I'm glad to know your opinion, eqqus." She muttered. Though D hadn't been gone long yet, Bie felt irksome at the wait. The fact that the late afternoon sun was beating down on her fiercely didn't help her mood. She watched the villagers eye her suspiciously, then noted the strange plants that grew on the cliffs. A richly green patch of something was growing in front of a building that looked like an inn. Bie wondered if that was where they would be staying that night. Not that she particularly minded camping out.

A boy about her own age was coming down a path cut into the cliff wall to a well. He stopped to stare at her, and she caught herself staring back. He looked a little uncomfortable, but there was something about him that begged Bie to look. Slowly she realized that he looked like an old childhood friend from her world. She closed her eyes as the memories of her simple days assailed her. The clop of another horse managed to bring her, meekly, out of her reverie. D had emerged from the stable-cave with another horse, complete with tack.

"Is that for me to ride? I-I'm not a very good rider…it might not listen to me…we'll probably fall off a cliff…" Bie said as she slid from D's horse. The Hunter handed her the horse's reigns and mounted his own horse. Bie followed as they made their way to the building she had identified as an inn. Really it was a saloon, but it had empty, rentable rooms upstairs.

Bie held the horses as D spoke with the barkeeper. She could just see the man through the window, and he eyed her before replying to D with a knowing expression. Obviously whatever he said was the wrong answer, because a moment later he became uncomfortable. Bie guessed it was the 'ghastly aura' D could exude. The man's face changed, and he took D's money in exchange for two keys. D returned, and they put the horses into another stable-cave.

"D, what did that pig of a barkeep say to make you upset? Bie asked before they returned to the saloon. D wondered how she gathered that, but replied before he thought much about it.

"Something I didn't like him saying. Don't worry about it."

Bie was surprised he even answered. He didn't go much for being cooperative when questioned. She was so stunned that she didn't think to follow it up with more questions. They drifted into the saloon and settled into a dim corner. Bie felt much better out of the direct sunlight; it made her feel wilted. With some borrowed money from D she bought a cup of synthesized tea and settled in to people-watch. D retired before the sun went down, with an admonition for her not too stay down too late. Several more people came in just at sunset, and the saloon became quite lively. Bie quickly guessed the usual reason for renting rooms was usually something not exactly clandestine, and tried to blend with the stonework as much as possible. She rather regarded the men in the room as predators; if she sat still they might not notice her, if she moved they probably would. On the other hand, if she moved fast enough, she could probably get upstairs before they could stop her.

"What to do, what to do." Bie muttered, eyeing the stairs. The trick was to move quickly without looking like she was fleeing. She had just decided to make a break for it when a particularly disgusting-and drunk- specimen of humanity spotted her in the corner. Bie pretended she didn't notice him as she moved toward the stairs, and made it halfway to them before he intercepted her. She gave him her most withering glare, which actually caused a plant behind him to droop a bit. The dolt was most likely too inebriated to feel it's effects. He grinned and leaned against the wall in front of her. Bie did an about-face and tried to walk away, but the sot grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly to him.

"Let me go, you sloshed idiot! What on earth is your fragging problem? Let go, you're hurting me!" Bie realized as those last words escaped her mouth that that was the worst thing to say at that particular moment. The man grinned and moved so she was trapped between him and the wall. Bie tried to slap him but he caught her hand and pinned it and her other arm above her head. His free hand started to go up her shirt. Bie slammed her knee up to hit him where it hurts, but the scuzball wore a guard. He slapped her across the face, hard enough to split her lip and rattle her brains a little. She felt a distant mixture of disgust and rage as the man smothered her against the wall. "I'm gonna make you feel so good it hurts, baby. You'll feel too good to be mad at me then." The man tried to kiss her, but Bie managed to keep her wits enough to bite him on his nose. Hard. He tasted terrible, but he backed up and swore. Bie tried to pull one of her arms free, but still she was no match for anyone who lived in the mountains of the Frontier. Suddenly she heard a metallic thud, and the drunk's eyes crossed as he fell to the floor. Bie, still a little muddled, saw it was the boy she had studied on the cliff face.

D lay on the bed upstairs, shades drawn and hat over his eyes. Surely his keen ears could hear Bie's distress downstairs, yet he made no move to help her. Was he really heartless enough to simply lie there while a drunk raped his companion?

"What? You're not rushing to the damsel in distress? Are you feeling all right, D?" the thing in his hand jibed.

"She can handle this much herself." D replied. The carbuncle snorted.

"Some hero you are. You're nearly as heartless as a Noble. I think _he_ would find this an interesting turn of developments-don't you?" the voice nagged. D clenched his fist, and the weird conversation ended.

Downstairs the boy had led Bie into the storeroom, and was gently helping wipe the blood off her face. Bie winced as the cloth touched her lip.

"Shards, that stings!" She groused. The boy laughed, then quickly leaned in and kissed her. Bie didn't respond for a moment from surprise, and the boy took advantage of her shock to trick her lips open. She managed to push him away and gasped for air. He looked pleased with himself, and Bie felt disgust begin to well up inside her again. "What do you think you're doing?! Just because you rescued me, do you think that I want to suddenly sleep with you or something?" He looked at her with a patient amusement.

"Well, that was the idea. I thought you would be able to show your gratitude for my rescuing you from that imbecile. Anyway, don't you want something to help you forget about that ordeal?" Bie stared at him, incredulous.

"Are you out of your sun-boiled _mind_? All I want to do is go to bed!"

"Funny, I was having the same thought." He moved towards her again, But Bie stiff-armed him away.

"No way, Casanova. Go roll in poison ivy." He pulled away and Bie could see the first glint of anger in his eyes.

"I don't believe in good deeds going unrepaid, girl." He threatened. Bie glared at him.

"Then here's your tip: don't eat yellow snow." She spat. He pushed her backwards over the half-barrel she sat on, so his body was pinning her. She tried to hit him, but she could barely move from that angle.

"Oh, so since you're that filthy dhampir's plaything, you think you're too good for the rest of humanity, huh? You think you're something special, just because you're the pet of some frikken' half-blooded freak?!" The boy had dropped all pretenses of niceness, so Bie pulled her wild card. She let out a sound that was one part scream, one part shriek, and one part animalistic squeal. The pitch and volume were enough to make the boy's ears ring, and for a moment he reeled away from her. Bie levered herself up and tried to scramble for the door, but the boy grabbed one leg. Bie kicked with her other leg and was rewarded with a grunt and a moment's freedom before he pinned her legs. Bie was so angry and disgusted that she wanted to cry, when suddenly the room seemed to freeze. She opened her eyes and saw a pair of black boots, connected to black-covered legs, that disappeared into a dark traveler's coat.

"D!" She cried, wriggling out from under the boy as he fell on his rear. Bie scrambled behind D before she even bothered to look at him properly.

D had his sword unsheathed, pointing at the boy who sat trembling with terror. The blade alone would have been enough to deter a weaponless foe, but D was also visibly upset. His face was threatening to crumple into the mask of a blood-crazed Noble, and the red light that half-gleamed from his eyes was startling. Bie was amazed that the boy was able to breathe through the vicious aura D exuded. Once Bie was behind him, though, D calmed perceptibly.

The others in the saloon had been eagerly watching the storeroom door ever since Bie's screech. Now they saw the girl emerge slightly more ruffled and annoyed, with the imposing Dhampir following her. The whole room was held frozen until they had both gone upstairs, then suddenly several men raced to check on the boy in the storeroom.

Bie turned to D in the hall outside their rooms.

"Unless my being there is going to set you off or something, I'm sleeping in whichever room you are tonight. That scared the fire out of me downstairs, and I don't want to be by myself now." She said quickly, as though afraid he would deny her. In answer he held one of the doors open and followed her into the room.

" It's kind of strange, isn't it? I mean, you could do worse to me than kill me or take advantage of me, yet I feel safer with you then I would with anyone else. Even though you're more dangerous, I trust you. You know, D, you remind me of the wind. A little bit of it can make plants grow tall, but in it's fury it can uproot anything." Bie said as she took her hair down and yawned.

"Do you even comprehend what I am? There are no Nobles to terrorize you in your world." D pointed out. Bie looked at him levelly.

"I'm not afraid of you or what you are, I think you are lucky. Besides, I know all the tricks against vampires. I know about crosses, and garlic, and wolfsbane, and running water. There's no reason to fear something once you understand it."

Later, when all was dark and quiet, a voice came through the room.

"D? will you come lay next to me? I- I'm still scared."

The Hunter amazingly slid into the bed beside the girl and allowed her to curl up with her back touching him. There he lay the whole night, listening.

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so yeah, its been, what, a year? Two? hopefully the computer problems are long gone. well, tell me what u think R&R, pple! 


	5. Chapter 5

Earthmaid discaimer: i dont own D or the frontier, yadda yadda yadda blah blah blah (...) shut up, sil. (i said nothing) YOU WERE THINKING IT! (... on with the fic)

**Earthmaid**

D knew someone was outside the door even before the innkeeper could knock. The Dhampir silently crossed over to the door and pulled it open just as the beefy man moved to knock on the door. Suddenly the surprised innkeeper found himself with his hand raised to pound, not solid wood substitute, but the equally solid darkness of D's chest. For a moment the man did a wonderful imitation of a dying fish before remembering his reason for disturbing this unnerving patron.

"I- I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you folks to leave. I don't want any troublemakers staying in my establishment, it would be bad for business, see?" the lump gasped.

"We'll be leaving just before dawn. You can tell the people who threatened you that you chased us off, if you like." D said. Not surprisingly, his voice carried a chill like a winter wind.

"Uh, that's not gonna cut it, mister. You clear out now, before I call the Vigilance Committee. I'd have called 'em already, but I figured your little girlfriend there's had a rough enough night already." The innkeeper's voice shook, removing any threat from his words. D silently shut the door in his face, and the beefy man stumbled downstairs.

For a moment D paused in the middle of the room. His stance said he was waiting for something.

"Not having second thoughts now, are we?" a rusty voice said from the darkness.

Silence.

"Ah, well this is something different for you, isn't it, having someone else to look out for besides yourself?" They voice gave a short bark of laughter and vanished. D gathered the sleeping Bie and left the mountain village without a word.

Bie floated along in her dreams, wandering the halls of her old schools, half-remembering the way things were before everything changed. She was so happy to be there. She sat for a moment, in her place in front of the library, feeling the rough bricks on her back. Bie was so happy, and so tired, she lay down on the concrete with her bag for a pillow. The moment she closed her eyes, she knew the dream was ending. The concrete became dirty rock, and sleep faded from her mind, leaving the poor girl in her harsh new reality. For a moment Bie refused to admit she was awake, telling herself it was the Frontier that was the dream, and the school the reality. Unfortunately, Bie was the type of person that, once conscious, was irreversibly awake.

"Bah and humbug. D, are you around here? Come to think of it, where is 'here', anyway?" Bie asked as she sat up. D didn't respond, which was really no more then was to be expected, but that on top of the dream sent her over the edge into instant panic mode- or irritation mode, they're pretty interchangeable at this point- which promised an unavoidable, raving rant in the near future.

"Hey you can at least answer me you cold-hearted jerk! Even after all that and your just going to act like nothing happened? I don't believe you! Can't you see that I'm so alone and-and frightened and- D, I'm going to die out here, I'm so lonely! I want to go home, take me home!" The girl was fighting back tears at that point and angrily brushed at her eyes with a fist before giving up and curling into a dejected, sobbing ball. She had thought she was doing so well so far, until the inn reminded her how weak she really was, and how alone. For the first time since Bie had realized where she was she allowed herself to be frightened. So the proud girl sat and cried. Normally she would have been appalled at the thought of crying in front of someone like D.

Normally she wasn't waking up alone in some godforsaken Frontier cave with no home.

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A/ns: wow i really like these lines... lol. okay its summer again so i'll try to get at least three chappies in.. sorry this one is so short i needed a transition and i just couldnt get it out of my head... so i have at least two more lined up, i just have to finish them and polish them up... review, pls!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry sorry, it takes me so long between updates... and wow i love VHD:bloodlust! how did i go this long w/out watching it????

my thanks to Prof. Wheeler for letting me borrow the movie! this chappie's for you, Prof!

* * *

Bie looked on her third Frontier village in a month and found it to be identical to the first. Impoverished, really nothing more than a cluster of run-down houses around a central street lined with taverns, whorehouses, and the homes of the few well-to-do. Actually, Bie considered further, this town wasn't quite a poorly off as the first town, or the mountain town, had been. Surely this was due at least in part to the large lake and flourishing orchards of the town's farmlands. As they hesitated on the edge of the town, Bie wondered if this was where D's next job was. It looked so peaceful and idyllic in the late afternoon sunlight. No, this surely could not be the next village of D's calling. Still they proceeded down the cliff face at the same unalterable speed. Surely D would always move at this same pace, even if he was riding to his own death, or even –Bie couldn't repress a shudder at the thought—even her own death. Suddenly a bird broke out into song, and Bie almost laughed at herself. Such dark thoughts in such a relatively prosperous, sun-touched place were as much as insanity! She must have been around the dark Hunter too long. Just as the sun sank far enough to tint the town a florescent crimson, Bie caught sight of something in the lake that made her freeze on her mount. On the far side of the lake, half-concealed by the Nobilities'' cloaking technology, was a massive ruin that stood half in the water. From what she could make out, it was breathtaking, even in its state of disrepair. As the evening grew deeper, the castle ruins grew more distinct, so that as the Hunter and his tagalong entered the village in the pale purpling evening, the castle threw its shadow long across the lake. It wasn't quite as big as, say, castle Chaythe, but it was still magnificent. Suddenly they rounded a low spur of the mountain and they were on the main street of the village. Bie had only a glimpse of the rooms inside the lit windows before curtains were drawn and shutters closed. Even though Bie knew this was how D would be treated anywhere he went, it still saddened her to see it.

"Hey, kid, there's an inn at the end of this street. If you get a little ahead of us, they might let you in." Left Hand said quietly, and not without some compassion. Bie thought about it for a moment.

"No thanks. I'd rather stay with you and D. Otherwise," Bie smiled. "I'd have no guarantee of you being here when I wake up."

"Heh. Suit yourself. You're nuts, you know."

"I've been around you two for almost a month. How could I not be a little strange by now?"

The sun had completely set, and Bie found herself following D as only a dark shadow in the gloaming. They traveled to the end of the road, to an old abandoned house on the edge of the orchard. They rode straight in through the non-door. Bie dismounted and started pulling things out of her saddlebags.

"So do you have a job in this village, D, or are we just passing through?" Bie asked, trying to seem nonchalant.

"You saw the ruins in the lake." D replied. Bie sighed. So he was in one of THOSE moods again. Once again, it was time to be obnoxious until she got an answer.

"Yes, I saw the ruins. I don't see how anyone could live in there though. They are so crumbled- trying to evade the sun there would be as pointless as trying to grate cheese with a spoon. As soon as she said that, Bie knocked her head against her saddle, making Rufus the Horse snort in protest. What a very stupid thing that was for her to say! First the episode with sobbing in the cave, and now this? She really, really needed to get that whole brain-mouth filter thing replaced with one that actually worked. She was so distracted by her own stupid metaphor that she completely failed to notice D pausing in his saddle just as he was about to dismount. What could possibly startle this stoic man? It couldn't be that Bie had referred to the Nobility as she would another human person, could it? D recovered quickly from his shock, if indeed there was one, and dismounted.

"About two months ago, a Noble moved into that ruin. Her name is Giselle, and she's only a hundred years old or so. According to the letter I received from the town's mayor, she has bitten two strong young men in the last month. By now, I'm sure she's taken another victim." D finally answered. Bie considered that statement for a moment. Other than Carmilla and Ramika Li, she had never heard of a female vampire in the Frontier of D's world, and even then, one was a ghost and the other a dhampir. A female vampire might present and interesting challenge for D. Then again, Bie mused as she went around the corner of the front room to change clothes for the night, D had never shown a moment's hesitation in pointing his peerless blade at a woman.

Out of the corner of her eye Bie saw a movement. It wasn't much, but this wasn't her world where a small movement meant something of minimal danger. Bie edged closer to the glow of the lamp that D had set up in the first room, all the while keeping her eyes towards the corner where she had thought she'd seen the movement. Despite all het attention, however, Bie still screamed when the large spider-like creature jumped at her. She threw up a hand to protect her face and somehow managed to smack the creature across the room. It was surprisingly furry spider, and something like a tail brushed her cheek as it flew past. Bie, however, did not stop to examine it. Instead she scrambled back to the light and grabbed her glaive. She heard the creature yowl in the darkness, and gritted her teeth. She really, really HATED spiders, and there was no way she was going to be able to sleep with this thing around. So she went and stood at the entrance to the room she had been changing in, careful to keep the light from the lamp behind her. The next time the creature came toward her, she was able to get a good look at it before she swung at it. The creature was some disgusting mixture of a spider, a fox, and a bat. The webbing between its legs was transparent, but its teeth were very much visible and razor sharp. Bie waited for it to spring again- she didn't trust her reaction time if she swung and missed. Finally the creature moved, and Bie squashed it with the dull end of her glaive. It made more of a crunching sound than a squishing sound like she had expected. Still, four of its legs and both of its fangs were working perfectly, so it flailed towards her, dragging its squashed lower body around. The sight gave Bie the willies, and she hurried to finish squishing it. After that had been taken care of, she returned quite triumphantly to the front room where D and her sleeping bag waited. D pointedly ignored her as she smugly settled down in her sleeping bag.

"I really, really hate spiders." Bie commented to no one in particular.

"Look at your glaive." D said from where he stood in the doorway. Bie glanced at her glaive, and then yelped. Where the spider-like creature's purple blood lingered on the weapon, the ironwood was charring and steaming. Quickly she leapt and picked it up. Obviously the blood was corrosive, but what could she do about it? She liked her glaive- it was her only weapon!

"Ah, oh no, D what do I do?" Bie panicked. D tossed her a strange feeling rag and Bie quickly wiped off the steaming blood. When she was done, she tried to figure out some way of thanking D. Somehow he seemed darker and less human than he had for a while. So instead of verbalizing her gratitude, Bie just nodded and handed the rag back to him. She returned to her sleeping bag, watching D as he watched the moon rise through the open door. He really did belong to the night, she mused yet again. He was handsome, but he was not a man. Not a human man, anyway. For the first time, as she lay there watching him watch the world, Bie realized how hard it really was for him.

"D…"

"Yes? What is it?" the Hunter asked without even turning his head.

"I understand. And D… thank you. For everything."

The leaves on the trees rustled in the wind blowing off the lake. And in a tiny village under the silver moon, a girl and a Dhampir understood each other.

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A/Ns: So i am at college now. Yea, surprise right? Turns out one of my professors had the VHD movies, so i borrowed them from him and got this written. :) Sorry about the delay- its taken me a year to get them into the village! lol sorry sorry! R&R, i will try one more time to update more than once every couple years... *sigh*


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